


Good Times, Bad Decisions

by LassLuna



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: CS January Joy 2020, Captain Swan January Joy (Once Upon a Time), F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:48:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22077988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LassLuna/pseuds/LassLuna
Summary: Emma Swan was supposed to go to a Halloween party. It was a set up and she knew it. Honestly, the last thing she wanted to do was go to this party.She was not supposed to end up sleeping with a pirate.
Relationships: Captain Hook | Killian Jones/Emma Swan
Comments: 23
Kudos: 139





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my contribution for CS January Joy 2020! I'm so happy to be apart of this event for the third year in a row. I can't wait to see all the amazing creations this fandom can create!  
> (Title from Bastille, Quarter Past Midnight)

Day 1 CS JJ

**Good Times, Bad decisions**

The last thing Emma expected to do was spend Halloween with a pirate she met at a bar.

It had begun with a simple idea, get a drink and text Mary Margret with a quick excuse as to why she wouldn’t be going to her halloween party. It certainly had nothing to do with the neighbor her childhood friend invited that would supposedly be perfect for Emma. 

No not at all.

But it wasn't the first time she'd done so, and Mary Margret had pretty bad taste in men when it came to Emma. Emma had initially reasoned that enough of their friends were going to act as a buffer for whatever low life she'd invited. 

But honestly, the last thing she wants to do is spend her evening engaging in small talk and finding delicate ways to let both the guy and her best friend down easy when it came to romance.

Emma didn’t even want a relationship. She'd tried it. Once. It didn't take.

Her plan was going well. She'd gotten her drink, so she was halfway there, but the text message wasn’t going so well. She kept seeing her ecstatic face, how excited she’d been at the prospect and- well she didn’t have a good reason.

Emma had just caught her last skip yesterday, so she had the money to relax for a few days, a fact she'd mistakenly told her friend’s husband, David. She couldn’t help it. He was the cop she handed all her skips to. 

So she got another drink, then another, the third purchased by a hot pirate who also seemed to be avoiding something.

(She distantly remembered his phone going off a few times)

By the fourth and fifth, well Emma Swan did have a good reason. She was too busy making out with the hot british pirate in the corner of the bar.

Not that she told Mary Margret that. By that point the keyboard was just a blur. She’d tried sending something, but she knew that whatever garble of a message she concocted was terrible and she deleted it. 

"Want to get out of here, love?" He'd whispered in her ear after he'd made her see stars just by sucking at that spot below her collarbone."A nightcap perhaps?" She saw his eyes, blue and absolutely staring right into her soul.

She'd nodded and gone with the pirate to his apartment just down the block.

Sleeping with the pirate on Halloween was one thing she did not regret. 

It was filled with more searing kisses and probably was the best sex she’d ever had. 

Waking up the next morning with said pirate in his bed was absolutely not the plan. Like, not even remotely in the plan. She didn’t remember how she planned to get home last night, but sleeping over is _never_ the plan. She usually makes plans to avoid that option.

So, in typical Emma Swan fashion, she grabs her clothes, thrown around the room at drink six or seven.

Emma barely takes a glance at the sleeping man in the bed, eye liner running over his face, and still somehow looking too fucking good, before heading towards the exit of the apartment.

She was well prepared to do the walk of shame back to her car, then back to her apartment where she would beg her friend’s forgiveness for completely standing her up.

But well, that was not in the cards because Emma got blasted in the face by gusting winds and snow. 

"Fuck." Emma cursed, pulling the door closed as fast as she can. The storm threatened to rip the door off the freaking hinges with its howling. 

There was no way in hell Emma was going out in _that._

Which led her to her current situation sitting on the bottom of the steps, still in her jeans and hoodie. Clothes not at all appropriate for an absolute _blizzard._

Who the hell heard of a blizzard in freaking october?

_Climate Change!_

The news articles announce as the cause, which honestly more people should pay attention to, but that doesn't at all help Emma's current predicament.

Staying the night was bad enough, but being trapped here was beyond bad. It was terrible. What the hell was she going to say to a man that she'd just slept with and had planned to run out of without a word?

Her phone buzzed in her hand from all the unread text messages.

_Emma can you pick up beer?_

_Don't worry, got some._

_Are you coming?_

_What time are you arriving?_

_He's here if you're wondering. I promise he's a good guy._

All from Mary Margret. Emma sighs; feeling guilty for not responding.

_If you're on your way, don't bother, there's a freak snow storm coming in. We're snowed in, everyone is crashing on the couch, or in our spare bedroom._

This was from David. Emma sighs, knowing that if she was half the friend they were she wouldn't be in this situation.

 _But at least I'm not bunking with the rando Mary Margret found._ Emma thinks.

She's a terrible friend. Absolutely terrible.

"Bloody hell." Says a voice behind her. Emma turns around, and the pirate is there on the bottom level of his apartment bleary eyed and in skull and crossbone boxers. The smeared makeup is mostly gone, as is his shirt. 

(even like this, he was absolutely as attractive this morning as last night)

Emma raises a brow. "Seriously taking the pirate thing all the way don't you think?" She asks.

He smirks at her. "I pride myself on my commitment." He tells her. "And I assume you got the same weather alert as I did." Emma nods. "18 inches of snow, who'd a thought?" He asks. 

Definitely not her. 

"Then let's go back to my apartment to ride it out." He offers. "According to the news, it won't be clear until tomorrow; which means a whole day in the home of a stranger.

Emma hesitates. 

"I promise love; I'm still a gentleman, even without the leather." He says with a teasing tilt of his brows.

Emma sighs, because she honestly doesn't have a better option. So, she makes her way back to the apartment she woke up in.

Silently, and still without putting more clothes than his boxers, he proceeds to his kitchen and puts on a pot of coffee.

Next, he goes to his fridge and pulls out a carton of eggs. Emma watches in silence as he methodically makes them both scrambled eggs and toast.

"Cheese?" He asks like it's the most normal thing in the world.

"I typically don't do this you know." Emma blurts out.

"The one night stand?" He asks, glancing back at him.

"The staying the morning after." Emma clarifies. "So don't think that this." She gestures between them and at the eggs for good measure. "Means anything. I would've been gone if it there wasn't a blizzard outside." She assures him. “This is just a one time thing.”

The last thing Emma needs is him getting the wrong idea.

He nods, looking her solemnly. "Of course." He says. Even without the alcohol, Emma swears his blue eyes can still see into her soul. Emma wonders what he sees.

"But that doesnt tell me if you like cheese in your eggs love." He's smirking now. Emma rolls her eyes.

"Who doesn't love cheese?" She asks. Putting her stuff down on the couch nearby. "Now where are your mugs, I think the coffee is ready."

Breakfast is surprisingly easy, the eggs taste good, he has a varied collection of jellies for the toast, and the coffee is already doing its job to combat the hangover induced headache she had woken up with.

"So love." He asks as she stuffs a fork full of eggs in her mouth. "I regretfully have forgotten your name." He says, scratching behind the ear. Emma can already tell that the guy does that when he's embarrassed. 

Not that it matters of course.

"Emma." She replies. "And I probably didn't give you my name, or ask yours, I think we had better things on our mind..." She trails off. God she'd been so drunk.

“Or bigger.” He says with another waggle of eyebrows; it makes Emma flush brightly.

“Oh my God.” She moans at his joke. “Do I have to call you Captain Innuendo now?” She says. 

"Killian will do just fine." He says with a laugh, standing up to clear their plates. A silence takes over the room, because of course it does.

Because what does one say to a stranger you met in a bar and properly slept with?

"What made you dress like a pirate?" Emma blurts out watching him wash the dishes.

She instantly regrets her question when she sees some serious scarring over his left hand. She vaguely recalls that one of his hands had a hook. It feels insensitive all of a sudden. 

It catches him off guard, but that might just be the fact that he’d caught her staring at his hand. He instantly hides it from sight. "I was supposed to go to a costume party." Killian says, 

"But soon after I arrived, I learned the hostess was trying to set me up with someone and well..." he says trailing off. "I’d prefer not to have others interfere with my life so much." he reasons, another sheepish smile. 

Emma nods in agreement. "I feel the same way. Would you believe my friends were doing the same thing?”

His eyes widen in surprise.

“I’ve always been a bit of an outsider, I’m a glass half empty kind of person. But my friend is convinced that there’s someone out there perfect for me, that I should open my heart to love and romance and all that stuff she loves but...” She trails off.

“Love has been all too rare in your life hasn’t it?” Killian asks. He’s doing it again, that looking-into-your-soul thing. It makes Emma feel a bit exposed. But at the same time, she sees something reflected back to her. A familiar gaze she’s seen all too often.

He laughs, breaking the odd tension. 

"Bloody hell, looks like we both dodged a bullet then." He says. "Because as odd as this current situation is, I’d much prefer this than rebuffing the attention of someone while also not insulting my friend..." he says trailing off. 

His phone buzzes on the counter. He reaches for it. 

"If you excuse me." He says disappearing into the bedroom with his phone. She can hear him talking with his friend, it seems a bit tense if Emmas honest, but thats none of her business. 

Rather than eavesdropping Emma surveys the room. Considering Emmas been in Bail Bonds as long as she has, she can tell quite a bit about a man by the condition of his apartment.

Its neat. That’s the first thing she notices; neat and organized. Everything has a place, and everything is returned to its place. His bookcase is full, she notices most of his books are worn from frequent use. 

They had eaten on a kitchen island with three chairs, not a dining room in sight. 

His couch is of moderate size, but the reclining armchair has more use.

Emma takes him for an orderly person who reads quite frequently; he must even reread his favorites when he’s stressed, cooks for himself but not often for a group. He’s a loner. But not alone.

"Turns out the girl didn’t show either." It makes Emma jump in surprise to see him standing behind her as she snoops. "Sorry love, didn’t mean to spook you." Killian says with another sheepish expression.

It makes Emma wonder about the swagger he had last night. She chalked it up to the rum.

"Wanna watch something?" Killian asks, gesturing to the Tv. Emma nods her head.

“Do you have Netflix?”

//

They put on a rom-com. Something light and funny, How to lose a guy in 10 days, one of Emma’s favorites.

“Honestly.” Emma says. “They’re both trying so hard to be people they’re not. She’s trying to be terrible, and he’s trying to be perfect.” 

Killian shrugs. “It’s definitely funny.”

Once it ends, Killian makes them a frozen pizza while they put on the next movie. Stardust. Emma had never seen it so Killian had insisted.

It was about a boy who was alone, an outcast and a girl desperate to get home, hunted by absolute nutjobs but risk it all for each other. 

Honestly, Emma kinda loves it. It also definitely confirms what Emma thought she’d seen in him. 

“You were alone too weren’t you?” She asks. He’s not surprised by her comment. Not in the slightest. 

“Lost sees lost. That’s what my brother always says.” He murmurs. “My mother died when I was six, our father walked out on us soon after and my brother and I were put in the system until we aged out.”

Emma nods. She understands his lack of details. It’s not someone anyone wants to talk about. “I was abandoned as an infant, maybe hours old.” She replies. “Love’s been all too rare in your life hasn’t it?” Emma repeats. It brings a sad smile to his face. “What are the odds that we’d meet last night?” She asks. 

“Perhaps we saw something in each other?” He wonders. 

“I’m pretty sure you just thought I was hot.”

“Still think you’re hot.” 

Emma laughs, easing back into his couch. It’s comfortable, both the couch and hanging out with this man. It was nice in a way Emma didn’t expect.

//

They move on from movies to books and he had a lot of books. Emma had fallen a bit behind on reading lately, but considering she had nothing but time today and Killian’s massive library, it felt like a good use of her time.

“How do you have time to read all these books?” Emma asks, flipping through a few to try to decide what to read first. She had _Pride and Prejudice_ in her hand currently.

“I’m a librarian.” He replies with a smile. “So being well read comes with the job.”

She nods. A librarian makes sense for him, considering his books, his quiet sheepish expressions, and his way with words. 

(But it didn’t explain the scar on his hand, that was not from a papercut, not that it was any of her business.)

She ends up reading Pride and Prejudice for a bit. She’s definitely beginning to enjoy it, when her phone buzzes in her lap.

_Emma, are you alright? The snow is clearing and David’s heading over to you’re apartment. Considering the drunk text you sent me last night, I have a feeling they’re not finding you there..._

Emma grimaces. She didn’t remember sending Ruby a text... She scrolls up to see it.

 _sLeepin wt pirates no paty don be ma_.

Yup. Pretty bad. 

Instead of replying, she decides to call her friend.

“Well the dead arose.” Ruby snickers as she answers the phone. 

“Ha ha.” She says standing up to go to Killian’s bedroom for privacy. “Was Mary Margret mad?” She asks. “I honestly was going to come but...” She says trailing off. 

“Nah. You know how she is, forgiving as always. David was a little peeved, the guy left a few minutes in but damn Emma, he was hot with a capital H.” Ruby says. Emma can practically hear the wolfish smirk that was characteristically her. “But what about you? Spend the night with a hot pirate?”

She hums in agreement. “I’m still at his place.” She says. “Got snowed in.”

“Dang! You never stay the night.”

“I never get that drunk. But honestly Ruby, I’m having a good time. It’s strange.” She says. “Like really strange.” 

“Oooh.” Ruby says. “What his name? Tell me everything.” She says. But Emma’s not sure. She’s scared that voicing her thoughts into the universe would ruin whatever it was. 

She thinks maybe that this isn’t a one time thing.

Then of course, she sees something that ruins everything. Because on Killian’s nightstand was a photo. A beautiful woman with Killian. She was in a wedding dress, he in a tux.

It was a wedding photo.

“Ruby. I have to call you back.”

//

“You’re not married right?” Emma blurts out. Because there’s no point beating around the bush. 

Emma refuses to even consider fantasising about a married man, not that she was fantasizing of course. 

She would rather walk back home, than be here another minute if he truly was-

“I was.” He states, not looking up from his book. “She died.” He responds. “Which is why I don’t want my friends to set me up with anyone. Because I know that I won’t find her. The perfect person they want me to find. Because she’s gone.” He’s looking at her now.

All the anger fades from Emma at his words. Because of course he’s not married, or cheating. Of course this good man wouldn’t do that. Not to her, not to the woman that he obviously loved so very much.

“I’m sorry.” she says softly. All of a sudden feeling like the biggest ass in existence. 

“Car accident, if you’re wondering, that’s how I got this.” He says lifting his hand, showing off the jagged scar that starts at his wrist and goes up his arm. “I was lucky.”

He says lucky like he doesn’t believe it. “Tell me, have you ever been in love?”

“Yes.” She says softly. 

“Then you know that I was anything but lucky that day.”

“I do.” She replies. Because she knows that pain, knows a pain so very similar it hurts just to think about. Like touching an old scab that still stings.

“I was in love once.” She says. “He was everything to me, but it wasn’t-it wasn’t real. He didn’t-” She loses the words. “He didn’t love me like that, he left me and I was...”

_Broken_

_“_ It’s not the same thing. I know that.” She says. “I know my friends mean well but I can never let anyone hurt me like that again. Ever. But they’re so sure that there’s someone out there, someone who will never leave me, not like everyone else has.”

“But you’re not so sure.” Killian says, he’s standing now and Emma’s not sure when he did that. “I assure you Emma, take it from someone who’s known you only a short time. You are not someone who deserves to be left behind.”

She bites back a gasp at his words.

“And maybe there’s hope for us yet?” Emma responds. He reaches out and hugs her. Then he kisses her and well...

They end up in bed together once more. 

//

The storm stops and reality settles in. It’s time for Emma to go home.

“I never did get to finish this.” She says, putting the book back in his shelf.

Killian smirks at her, he’s in real clothes now, she has on a band T-shirt and sweats. It’s a size too big on her, but it’s a lot warmer. “Keep it.” He assures her. “Keep it as a reminder, that if we can cohabitat for a day, then perhaps...perhaps someday...our friends will no longer need to play matchmaker.”

She smirks at that. 

He looks at her for a moment and Emma thinks he's going to ask for more. He's going to ask for something stupid and romantic like an actual date or a kiss in the rain, or any of those chic flic things.

But after everything, a part of Emma wants him to. She wants him to want her to stay, to tell her it wasn't just her, that he felt it too. 

The spark, the connection, a kindred spirit in her that just wanted something. That it wasn’t just drunk sex, that it wasn’t just two ships in the night.

And yet, all Killian does is put on a smile, offer out his hand and shake hers.

"It was nice riding out a blizzard with you."

Emma smiles back. 

Because of course he doesn't say any of those things. Emma had said herself, that this was a one time thing.

Emma Swan doesn’t do relationships. She'd tried it once and it didn’t take.

It wouldn’t take here either. Not that Emma thought it would.

She walks away from Killian Jones, prepared to never see his smiling face.

The last thing she expects is to see him again on New Years Eve.


	2. Bad Times, Good Decisions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final entry of CS January Joy 2020 I'm so happy to be a part of it for the fourth year. Thank you for all the people who contributed to it and all the readers who showed there support.

Bad Times, Good decisions

Emma hasn’t had the best holiday season. If she’s honest, it’s been pretty rough.

She was forced to go to Thanksgiving with Mary Margret and David as an apology for completely ghosting them for Halloween. Honestly, looking back, Emma doesn’t know what she was thinking.

Emma knows that they just want the best for her, so avoiding the party and spending the night and day with a complete stranger was just stupid. He could have been a real creep.

“Did you at least have a good time?” Mary Margret asked. “Ruby said you were having a good time.”

Emma nodded. She had, It had been great. “But it’s over. It was just a one time thing, a spur of the moment friendship.” She insisted. Because that’s all Emma can handle. David puffed out his chest in a bit of protective instinct. Mary Margret had simply taken Emma’s hands.

“Emma, those walls of yours...” She says trailing off. “They may keep out pain, but do you think that they might also keep out love too?” She asks. “Maybe this guy is worth lowering your walls for?” 

Emma hesitates, considering it, but eventually shakes her head.

“I’m sorry.” She says instead, wishing she could, wishing she had the strength to do as she asked, to be normal for a change. “I don’t think I can.”

But what Emma did have the strength to do was find her bail jumpers, so from Halloween to Thanksgiving, she threw herself head first into her work, so when Thanksgiving came, she welcomed the break to go to Mary Margret’s father’s house for the weekend. She didn’t have to worry about being set up this time as the person Mary Margret had tried before actually wasn’t available.

“He had a girlfriend.” Mary Margret admitted as they’re packing up her pies. “He didn’t realize I was setting him up, apparently she’s not ready for introductions so he was keeping her a secret.” She shakes her head. “I kinda feel bad for trying to set you up with someone not available.”

Emma shakes her head. “It’s fine, you didn’t know.” She says. It would have been a disaster had she come.

Anyway, Mary Margret promised not to invite anyone extra to David’s mother’s Thanksgiving. She thankfully kept her word, and it was just their immediate family. It was sweet and nice, but honestly Emma felt a bit like an outsider there, but she tried not to let it show. 

It wasn’t their fault that Emma was so guarded, so defensive against this kind of stuff. It wasn’t their fault Emma couldn’t help but think back to Halloween and wonder how Killian was spending his holiday.

//

Christmas was considerably worse than Thanksgiving. She hadn’t wanted to spend another with Mary Margret’s family, so when her boss offered her a skip the night of Christmas Eve, she took it without hesitation.

The guy was looking for a date on Christmas Eve with his children in a foster home, alone, practically orphaned because of his blatant disregard for their well being. It enraged her to no end.

Perhaps that’s how the guy managed to realize that there was something off with her, and made a break for it. 

It ended with her dress torn, the guy handcuffed on his way to jail and an emergency room visit with a busted ankle and broken ribs. 

She didn’t see anyone she knew on Christmas, just nurses filtering in and out of her room. The hospital food was a bit better that day, but besides that she spent most of the day sleeping off the pain meds they had given her

David showed up the next day and took her home. He must have apologized a dozen times for not being there, for not being able to get her yesterday, but Emma waved him off.

“You were spending time with your family.” she reminded him. As soon as she gets to her floor and unlocks her door, Emma practically limps on autopilot to her bed. She hears David moving around in her kitchen, no doubt trying to do some cleaning.

“Leave it!” She called, barely able to lift her head she was so tired. “It’s fine...go home...”

“Fine.” David said, approaching the entrance to her bedroom. “But promise you’re going to be there at our New Year’s party?” He asks. Emma furrows her brows. 

“Then will you leave?” She asks.

He nods.

“Fine.” She murmurs into her pillow. “But no set up.”

“No set up.” David repeats.

//

The last thing Emma expects is to see Killian is on New Years Eve. 

Even further from that, is the call she gets from him two days before New Years Eve. Emma hadn’t recognized the number, but was so bored on her medical leave for her ankle that she’d picked up the phone.

“Emma Swan?” He asked. Emma had gasped at the familiar accent. “It’s Killian. Killian Jones from Halloween.”

Emma nodded dumbfounded, then recalls that he can’t see her. “Yeah, I remember you...what’s up?” Then she kicks herself for saying what’s up like an idiot.

“Well...um...I got myself in a bit of a situation.” She can practically see him scratch behind his ear nervously. 

“Do you need bail?” Emma says instinctively.

“What? No.” He responded. “Why would you think that?”

“I’m a bails bond person.” She reminds him. “It’s kinda my job.”

“Right yes, but no. I’m not in jail.” He clarified. “But I do need your help.” He replied. “It’s actually stupid really, but well, are you busy New Year’s Eve?” He asked.

“I’m supposed to go to a party-” She starts.

“Ok, no worries, sorry to waste your time-” He says quickly, interrupting her and seeming very nervous if Emma’s honest. 

“Wait, Killian, what is it?”

“Um...well....how would you feel about coming to a party my friend is throwing and pretending to be my girlfriend?” He asks very quickly. It catches Emma completely off guard. 

“It’s stupid, I know. Sorry to waste your time-”

Yet again, Emma stops him from hanging up. She definitely needs more details.

“Stop trying to hang up.” She says stubbornly. “And tell me what you’re talking about.”

There’s a long sigh. “Do you remember my friends that tried to match me up with some girl on Halloween? Well to get out of any future setups,I may have told them I had a secret girlfriend?”

Oh my God.

“And I managed to get out of Thanksgiving and Christmas, but now they are insisting that I come to their New Years Party and to bring my girlfriend.”

“Who doesn’t exist.”

“So you see my problem.”

She did, she definitely did. 

“I’m sorry to even ask this, honestly I don’t know how I even got into this mess...” He admits.

“Probably has to do with that girl you got snowed in with during Halloween.” She says with a smirk. “And if it helps keep your friends off your back, I can help.” Although Emma doesn’t know why she’s helping, it seems crazy. Absolutely crazy.Besides, she has her own party to go to and if she cancels on David, they are literally going to kill her. 

“I just have to make it to my party at some point before midnight.” She tells him. 

“I can work with that.” Killian says. He sounds relieved. “How about you come by my apartment around 7, we can prep and then I’ll drive us over.” He offers. “We can get a bite to eat before we head over.”

“Sounds perfect.”

//

The last thing Emma expects is to see Killian is on New Years Eve, and yet here she is knocking on his door.

She hears something crashing in his apartment. “I’ll be right there!” He calls, before pulling the door open.

Killian looked good, that was the first thing Emma noticed, a black button down, even darker jeans. His hair was a little messy but in a way too attractive way.

Emma suddenly remembered why she slept with him before. Twice.

He looks up at her with those blue eyes, bright and happy. “Swan.” he greets, smirking. “You look...”

He is looking her up and down and seemed at a loss for words. 

She smirks at him, satisfied that she looked as good as she felt. “I know.” She replies, maybe a bit too smug but it makes Killian grin wider. He steps aside and welcomes her in.

The apartment looks pretty much the same as it had before, but she could definitely smell something absolutely wonderful in the oven. “What is that?” She asks.

Now he’s the one that looks oh so smug.

“Chicken Parm.” He responds, going to the kitchen to check on things as Emma takes a seat at the kitchen island. “I hope you’re hungry.” 

(she tries not to think about having breakfast here oh so long ago, or the thoughts that she could get used to a beautiful man cooking her food)

Instead, she just pulls the end of her black dress down and crosses her heels under the stool. “So tell me about this party?” She asks. “And how long have we been dating?” She knows better than anyone that they need to get their story straight before they get there.

“Just a few weeks before Halloween.” He admits. “And they’re my co-workers friends really, but the second they met me they thought I was perfect for a friend of theirs, honestly they’re very nice people.” He insists. 

Emma can tell that it pains this man to lie to them, but Emma totally understands the feeling.

“And what do you do?” Emma asks. “Because after all the time we went through, I don’t think I caught your job.”

“Oh, I work at the engineering firm down by the dock.”

Emma nods. It seemed fitting for Killian, he seemed a very organized person.

“Alright Dinner’s ready.” Killian announces, pulling out plates and serving the chicken from the oven, as well as some sauce and pasta from a pot on the stove.

Honestly, the moment Emma tries it she’s blown away. It tastes great.

“You said you work in Bail bonds?” Killian asks after a few bites.

She nods. “Mostly in the recovery.” She specifies. She never really had the eye for the business part of it. She left that mostly for Chloe.

“The recovery...”Killian repeats. “Hold on, you’re a bounty hunter?” He asks in amazement. She shrugs. 

“Bail bonds person.” Emma clarifies. “There’s a difference.” 

“How does someone get into that line of work?” He asks. It’s an honest question.

“Rough childhood, even rougher early adulthood, I had a...minor infraction with the law...” Emma admits, keeping her eyes on him to see if he was bothered by that detail. 

He doesn’t seem to be, he seems completely focused on her, warmth and understanding radiating off of him in waves.

“And a bail bonds person caught me, but I didn’t make it easy.” She’d given Chloe hell before she was finally caught. “After I got my shit together, she offered me a job.”

“Wow Swan, I knew you were a tough lass, but I wasn’t expecting that.” He admits sheepishly.

“I live to be the unexpected.” Killian laughs at that, but by then she’s just about finished her plate. “Alright so I’m guessing you drive us to your party, then about 10 you drop me at mine?” Emma asks.

Killian nods. “Perfect love.”

//

“I have friends who live around here.” Emma admits as they get out of his car.

“Oh?” She nods.

“Would you believe my party is in the same building?” She responds. “I bet there’s a lot of New Year Parties happening tonight.”

Killian nods. “Maybe we can see each other after then?” He asks. “After the ball drops.”

Her breath catches in her throat at the offer. It makes her think that maybe, just maybe the thoughts and feeling she had weren’t one sided “Maybe.” She responds once her voice works properly. “Let’s just get to the party.” Emma states. His head dips and she gets this sudden feeling like he’s disappointed.

Emma suddenly has this feeling like she’s said something wrong but she’s not sure what.

“Aye, shall we?” He says, holding the door to the apartment building open for her. 

“Are we good?” Emma says.

“Of course Swan.” He replies all too calmly. Now that was a telltale sign of things being not fine at all. Emma was not going in there with him being all not fine on her. Fake girlfriend or otherwise, it would be a disaster. So once the elevator door closed behind them, Emma made her move. She took a step towards him, stepping into his space 

“Spit it out Jones.” She snaps.

So he kisses her. And oh my god Emma forgot how good of a kisser Killian was, and maybe it was better now. Now that she’s not drunk or sad or anything but ready to be a fabulous fake girlfriend for this man.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for the better part of three months.” He says into her neck because that’s where his lips ended up. Her hands were in his hair, his very very soft hair and-

The elevator door opens.

She hears a shriek. Emma opens her eyes and freezes. Killian jerks away but nothing can hide the mess Emma made from his hair, or the bit of lipstick smudged in his lips. 

“Emma?!” It’s Ruby. “You’re Jones’s girlfriend?”

Emma looks at Killian, and then back at Ruby, then at the floor number. She was on Mary Margret’s floor.

_ Oh my god.  _ Emma realizes, she sees the horror on Killian’s face.

They were going to the same party. Where Emma had made David swear not to set her up with anyone because she was chronically single, while also having to pretend to be Killian’s secret girlfriend.

“Um...” Killian stammered. “Your Ruby right? Aurora’s friend?”

“And Emma’s supposed best friend.” Ruby says, arms crossed. “Emma, why didn’t you tell me you were dating Jones? How did you even meet if you both ditched the set up.

Emma hadn’t even thought about that, hadn’t even considered...

Too much, too much information, too much attention and she desperately wanted to keep kissing Killian. So Emma did the only thing she could possibly think about doing.

Looking Ruby dead in the eye she pressed the ‘close door’ button on the elevator and then randomly pressed another button.

“We are screwed.” Killian said in a breath.

“Absolutely.” She agrees. It doesn’t stop her from continuing to make out with Killian. Not one bit.

“You know we’re going to have to come clean to everyone right?” He says after a moment.

“Yeah.” she says. “But we’ll give a hell of a start to 2020.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See the other stories on tumblr @csJanuaryJoy

**Author's Note:**

> Part 2 to be released January 30th :)


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